


A Parent's Job

by Mickey_99



Series: Haikyuu Soulmates AU [25]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adoption, Family, Feels, Hope, Love, M/M, Parental Love, Uncertainty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25058869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mickey_99/pseuds/Mickey_99
Summary: Tendou's journey to becoming a parent alongside Wakatoshi
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: Haikyuu Soulmates AU [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736596
Comments: 30
Kudos: 212





	A Parent's Job

**Author's Note:**

> I am sorry this is bad... >.<

Satori had never really thought about adopting kids, or even having kids in general. Satori hadn’t had a father, and the woman he called “mom” when he was younger had used his body to make money for herself. Satori didn’t feel like he was at all qualified to be a parent. But when he met Satoshi a part of him wanted to be qualified.

“I heard you like manga,” Satori says sitting down in front of Satoshi. “I do too.”

“I know!!!” The small red head says excitedly,” I read all your manga all the time!”

Satori cracks a smile. The kid was adorable. Satori wanted to hug him and give him a home. But Satori didn’t think he even knew how to start being a parent. This kid deserved a better parent than Satori could be for him.

Satoshi is talking to Wakatoshi and gesturing wildly with his hands. And Ushijima is smiling back and interacting with the kid in such a natural way that it makes Satori’s heart flutter. Satori had only ever seen Ushijima act like this on rare occasions when they were alone. Ushijima was smiling and laughing as the kid spoke about Satori’s manga and about the main character who could fly. Satori’s glance slid over to Hinata, who had been the inspiration for the main character. Hinata was talking with the boy, Shun. Shun had a little girl hiding behind him, she hadn’t been with the original nine. Satori tore his gaze away from Hinata and focused back onto Satoshi. The cute little boy in front of him. The boy that just needed a home, a home that Satori wasn’t sure he could give him. The excited red head leaned forward in his story telling and the shirt he was wearing slipped off of his shoulder. Satori’s eyes widened as he saw jagged scar tissue covering the shoulder. Marks that looked like bite marks. Whip lashes. Scars upon scars. And Satori was only seeing the boy’s shoulder. Satori mumbled something about needing to use the bathroom before hurrying out of the room and down the stairs. Satori barely made it over the toilet in time to throw up.

The boy was only six years old. Six. How did he have the same amount of scars as Satori did now? Satori sat on the floor of the bathroom, dry heaving into the toilet. Uncertainty and insecurities plaguing his mind.

_I am not fit to be a parent. I won’t be able to help him. I can’t DO this._

“Oh sweetheart,” Misa says coming into the bathroom,” Come on honey. Let’s get you to your car. I will tell your soulmate that you aren’t feeling well and need to get home.”

Satori nodded before taking the woman’s hand and allowing her to guide him to the car he had driven to the house in. Satori seated himself on the passenger’s side. He didn’t feel well enough to drive. He leaned his head against the car window and closed his eyes.

The opening of the driver’s side door is what alerted Satori to the presence of his soulmate. A gentle hand ran through Satori’s hair.

“We don’t have to do this,” Ushijima says quietly as he starts up the car,” I understand if this isn’t something you want to do.”

And Satori feels awful because he knows that Ushijima wanted to do this. It was obvious from the feelings floating across the bond. But yet again Ushijima was holding back because he wanted Satori to e happy. The man wouldn’t even push for this if he didn’t think Satori wanted it.

Satori decided that he would at least think about it. Satori owed Ushijima that much.

“I think I am going to see mom,” Satori says quietly,” I am going to go see mom tomorrow in Miagi.”

“Okay,” Ushijima says. Ushijima probably already knew why.

The next day Satori was knocking on the Hinata household’s door. The door opened to reveal a very energetic woman with bright ginger hair. Her eyes lit up upon seeing Satori.

“Satori!!!” The woman shouted happily,” I am so happy to see you here.”

Satori is pulled into a bone crushing hug. For a small woman, she really did have some strength.

“Hey Hinata-san,” Satori says smirking, knowing it would irritate the woman an amusing amount.

The small woman that had come to be like a mother to him glared. “I know you are trying to push my buttons you shithead.”

Satori smiles before wrapping his arms around the woman,” Sorry Mom,” He says burying his face into her shoulder. Something he started doing when he was lost or confused was, he started going to Miagi and seeing Kayori, Hinata’s mother. Though Kayori Hinata had become more like a mother to all of them.

“What’s wrong honey?” Kayori asks gently. Trust her to always spot the discrepancies in their actions when they were feeling uncertain, lost, confused, or just depressed.

“What makes you think anything is wrong?” Satori laughs. Though he knows its futile. Kayori already knew that something was wrong. It was like she had a special power.

“You only ever bury your head in my shoulder when something is wrong,” she says messing up his hair,” You do it as a way to hide from whatever is bothering you.”

“Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself,” Satori says huffing out a laugh and finally pulling himself out of the hug they were holding.

Kayori guides Satori over to the couch where he sits down. She quickly sits down next to his and focuses her attention onto him. That simple action always had Satori filling with warmth. The way the woman so readily was ready to listen and take his problems on. As if she had given birth to him herself.

“The other day Hinata called us and some others to a foster home,” Satori says slowly,” He had met some kids there that he thought we would have a bit of a connection with. And well I did.”

“So, what’s the problem?” Kayori asks gently.

“Well Hinata talked about how he was thinking of adopting, and how he called us out there to let us get the chance to think about it to.” Satori says. His words came out slow, like he was trying to find a way to formulate them.

“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Kayori says happily clapping,” I get to have a ton of grandkids to spoil absolutely rotten.”

Satori grimaces a bit. Now he felt like he would be letting her down if he said what he wanted. But luckily, he didn’t have to. Kayori fixed him with a calculating stare.

“You don’t think you are ready to have a kid,” She says smiling gently,” That’s what it is isn’t it.”

Satori chokes back a sob, surprising himself because he hadn’t even realized he had started to cry.

“Oh sweetheart,” Kayori says pulling him into a hug.

“Wakatoshi seems like he really wants to do this,” Satori says sobbing into her shirt,” And I really feel connected to the kid. I mean he has scars just like mine, but I don’t think I am ready to be a capable parent. I don’t think its possible for me to be one.”

Kayori shushes him and rubs his back gently. “Satori, can I let you in on a secret?”

Satori sits up and stares at her, his eyes still red.

“None of us are ever ready to be a parent,” she says smiling,” None of us are ever prepared. And for all the handbooks on it out there, there really is no handbook that tells you how to do it perfectly. It’s a vulnerable human life that you hold when you have a kid, and I don’t think anyone is ever ready to be a parent. But as hard as it is, it’s so very rewarding. I mean take you guys for example; I get to live everyday of my life knowing how proud I am of my perfect, strong, wonderful boys. If you wait for everything until you are ‘ready for it’, then you miss some of the best experiences.”

“But what if I screw up,” Satori says,” What if I make things worse for him. I mean I don’t know how to be a good parent.”

“Satori dear,” Kayori says gently,” The one thing we forget about parenting, so much of the time, is that it all boils down to one very important thing. Loving your child with your entire heart, no matter what. It will be hard, parenting always is, but if you truly love that child then there is nothing better you can do as a parent.”

Satori feels his heart pull a tiny bit,” Isn’t this all different with adoption though,” Satori asks.

“I adopted a group of grown ass boys,” Kayori says smiling,” And while you lot cause me to constantly want to rip my hair out, I love every single one of you in the same way that I love Shouyou. And I think you already love that boy. Satori do what your heart says to do. Not your mind.”

Satori sat for a second before nodding slightly. “Okay,” Satori says smiling. “I think I know what I want to do.”

“Good,” Kayori smiles slightly,” Now speaking of ripping my hair out, you are far too thin. Are you eating properly? What have you been eating lately.”

Kayori levels him with a glare. Satori shifts under her gaze.

“Instant Ramen,” Satori says quietly.

“Oh, my lord!” Kayori says throwing her hands up,” See this is what I mean. Ripping my hair out as we speak. I’ve told you to eat healthier!”

“I had a deadline,” Satori says meekly.

“Satori,” Kayori says sternly,” Go sit at the table I am cooking you food. Right. Now.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Satori says quickly getting up and following instructions. You didn’t argue with mom.

Later that night when Satori got home, Ushijima was already asleep in bed. Satori got changed before sliding into bed next to his soulmate. Satori gently kissed Ushijima’s head and smiled when the spiker groggily opened his eyes.

“How’d seeing your mom go?” Ushijima asks after realizing it was Satori who had woken him up.

“Good,” Satori says quietly,” Hey, do you think that we could maybe go see Satoshi again?”

Ushijima’s eyes widened for a moment before he regained his composure, but Satori could still feel the excitement over the bond.

“Sure,” Ushijima says smiling,” I’ve been helping him play volleyball but for some reason, ever since I told him about your position in volleyball, he really wants to be a middle blocker.”

Ushijima smirks and Satori barks out a laugh,” Of course he does,” Satori says smiling,” He wants to be just like your miracle boy Sa-to-ri. I am pretty amazing after all.”

“Yeah,” Ushijima says smiling slightly,” You really are.”

Satori smiles before closing his eyes. Warmth spills into his chest as he feels Ushijima pull him closer before drifting off to sleep.

The entire car ride to the foster house was full of nervous energy. But it was also full of anticipation.

“Hey Wakatoshi,” Satori says.

“Hmm?” Wakatoshi responds.

“Do you mind if I spend time alone with him? I kind of what to spend time alone with him,” Satori says carefully.

Wakatoshi smiles. “Sure, Kazu was talking about wanting to set for me anyways. And I think Hinata is also humoring him today.”

Satori smiles in gratitude.

Meeting Satoshi the second time went better than the first time. Satori had a clearer head this time and was actually thinking about his options instead of just shutting out the idea of adoption all together. Satoshi told Satori stories and showed Satori pictures that he had drawn.

“I like reading your manga so much!!!” Satoshi says.

“So, I’ve heard,” Satori says smirking,” I also heard that you want to play middle blocker now.”

“Yeah!!!” The boy says,” I heard you were the bestest middle blocker ever!!!”

Satoshi’s eyes lit up and Satori felt a tug at his heart. Something clicked into place for that moment and Satori couldn’t help it. Satori hugged the small red head in front of him. The little boy squeaked in surprise.

“I got a hug from Satori Tendou!!!” The boy shouts happily before bolting off of the bed. At first Tendou thought he had scared the boy off, but then Satoshi started shouting,” MisaMisa!!! Tendou-san gave me a hug!!! I got a hug from my favorite manga artist!!!”

Tendou couldn’t help but laugh, the little boy had completely stolen his heart in a matter of two visits. Satori still heard Satoshi running around and telling every kid/person he saw the exciting news. Meanwhile he was joined in the room by Misa.

“You just completed his entire life,” Misa says laughing,” He was so nervous he had upset you somehow last time, but it looks like you dispelled that worry.”

Satori winces,” I was upset last time, but not with him.”

Misa gives a small smile,” I already understand honey,” The woman says kindly,” I wasn’t expecting all of you boys to adopt so I am not surprised that at least one of you is not going to.”

“I want to,” Satori says quickly,” I just needed time to think.”

Misa looks shocked for a moment,” Well do you want me to walk you through the process then?”

“Yes please,” Satori says smiling,” Let me go get my husband really quick.”

When they had finally sat down on the couch to talk, Satoshi finally came barreling into the room and leaping into Satori’s lap. Surprising everyone in the room.

“Holy crap,” Satori heard a boy from across the room say,” Satoshi hates touching people.”

Satori feels a flutter of warmth spread through him as Satoshi starts to kick his legs out and starts singing and dancing in Satori’s lap.

The boy is in his own little world.

“Alright,” Misa says smiling,” Since Satoshi’s parents aren’t ever going to be given rights to their child again the process gets a tiny bit easier. Normally it would be a whole thing in court because parent’s will sometimes have the opportunity to gain custody back. None of the children here are in that situation so it makes things a tiny bit easier, not much. Before anything we will need to run background checks on you both, then comes the fun part. First your house will need to be inspected to make sure its safe for a child of his age. You need to have things like toys, food, a bedroom for him, books, and you will need to pick out a school where he would go to show us. That or if you homeschool him… we basically need to be shown that you will give him an education. After all of that is said and done, it usually takes a few weeks, you will start getting visits from Satoshi to your house on the weekends. It’s the chance for you to get him acclimated to a new environment and to get to know each other. Normally we do about two months for this step. He would arrive Friday night and stay until Sunday morning. Then after that you will take him for weekdays, we start slowly until eventually he his spending more time at your house than here. This will also be when you start putting him into school. Then when myself and his social worker feel that he has gotten used to the move we ask Satoshi if he would like to be adopted by you. If he agrees and says he wants to we finalize everything, and he moves permanently to your house. And at that point he would officially be your kid.”

Both Ushijima’s listen intently before nodding their heads. Satori looks at Satoshi who is still in his own little world. Satori’s heart soared as he thought of Satoshi being his son. Ushijima and Tendou share a brief glance. They would be getting started right away.

A week later Satori sat over a desk that he had been trying to assemble for the past two hours.

“I hate this desk; I hate these instructions. Fuck Ikea.” Tendou collapsed into a heap on the ground.

“Maybe we should call Keiji,” Ushijima says looking at his dresser he was trying to assemble.

“How is he going to help us?” Satori asks groaning.

“Apparently Bokuto breaks a lot of furniture… I guess Akaashi shops at Ikea a lot.” Ushijima says

“Call him,” Satori says. Anything that could make this process finish.

Ushijima and Tendou had already painted the walls to be a purple color, which was apparently Satoshi’s favorite color. Ushijima had insisted on making it the Shiratorizawa purple. They had installed a carpet flooring that was super soft. Apparently soft things made Satoshi feel more relaxed. And Satori had a box of manga, toys, and regular books. The kitchen was even stocked with food and cereal that Satoshi enjoyed. The only thing left was to assemble the goddamn furniture. The furniture which had been made by a person who enjoyed the suffering of others.

Luckily, Satori was saved by the bell, literally. The bell rang and Satori was off like a rocket and throwing open the door.

“Keiji!” Satori shouts,” I need your help assembling the desk from hell.”

Akaashi snorts. “I told you that Ikea would piss you off.”

“I know but it was super cute, and I knew he would like it.” Satori says hanging his head.

Akaashi laughs,” It’s okay Satori, I will help.”

“Oh, thank god,” Satori says.

Satori led Akaashi up the stairs to the bedroom where Ushijima had given up on assembling anything and was instead hanging up posters and glow in the dark stars.

It took Akaashi only thirty minutes to assemble all the pieces of furniture.

“Koutarou was right about you being a god at assembling things,” Ushijima says plainly.

“And he’s a god at destroying them,” Akaashi says bluntly,” But he has been doing much better. Now that there will be a kid in the house it seems like he is being more mature. But… he is still the same old Bokuto.”

Akaashi smiles at the last part of his words. It was obvious that Akaashi really did enjoy the energy Bokuto brought around.

“So, are you excited to adopt Aki?” Satori asks.

“I honestly can’t wait,” Akaashi says smiling,” I think he will be perfect for our household. He seems a bit shy around Koutarou, a bit hesitant. But I have faith that Bokuto will get him to warm up.”

Satori nods. Akaashi would be fine. Akaashi already was like a parent before ever adopting a child.

The weekend visits started. Satori found himself balancing work a lot better suddenly. Satori would work really hard during the week so that he had time to spend with Satoshi when the boy came over. Satoshi would normally arrive around 5pm every Friday. Each time Satoshi was carrying a backpack full of clothes. It had been obvious that Satoshi was nervous on the first visit, but the visits after he seemed to get more and more comfortable with the house.

“Satoshi,” Satori scolded,” No cookies before dinner.”

Satoshi froze, his hand halfway into the cookie jar. Satori barely managed to hide his stern expression as Satoshi looked at him with wide eyes. Satoshi slowly withdrew his hand and sat down pouting.

“You’re face will freeze like that,” Satori grinned at him.

Satoshi’s eyes widened before the small boy began to massage his face to make sure it didn’t get frozen. Satori once again had to hold back his laughter.

Another thing that was revealed during the weekend visits was the fact that Satoshi often woke up to awful night terrors and wet the bed. The first time it happened it had been Ushijima who ran into the room and woke the small shaking child out of the terrible dream.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me,” Satoshi cried,” Please don’t hurt me. I’ll be good for you daddy. Please don’t hurt me.”

Satori’s heart had broken as he watched the boy rock back and forth on the bed in tears, covered in his own bodily fluids.

“Hey,” Satori says gently,” It’s okay sweetheart. It was an accident honey. Come on, let’s get you washed up and then we will change the sheets together okay? Maybe we can make a fort.”

Satoshi’s eyes lit up, though they still glistened with tears. “Okay!” Satoshi says happily.

Satori take Satoshi to the bathroom and washes the boy’s hair and back before wrapping him in a warm fluffy towel and swinging him around. Satoshi squealed in delight and kicked his legs in happiness. Satori threw the small boy up and caught him before swinging him around again.

“I flew I flew!” Satoshi says happily. A smile breaking out on the boy’s face.

Ushijima came into the bathroom and took Satoshi to go get dressed. Satori went to go change his own clothes because his were wet now.

“I want something soft,” Satoshi said to Ushijima as Satori re-entered the room.

Ushijima smiles before handing the boy a soft shirt and sleep pants. Satoshi puts them on and then squeals again when Ushijima starts to tickle him. Satori remains silent as he watches the way Ushijima plays with Satoshi. Giggles fill the room. And soon Satori is laughing and joining them. Sleep was forgotten and instead they chased each other around the house trying to tickle each other for as long as they could before they victim would scamper away. Eventually Satoshi and Ushijima formed an alliance and chased Satori around the house with feather dusters.

There were moments when Satori felt ready to rip his hair out. It was hard deciding when to scold, when to raise his voice slightly, and when to send the boy to time out. It took a lot of work. And Satori always told Satoshi that even though he had to sit in time out it didn’t mean Satori hated him. Eventually Satoshi seemed to understand, though the boy still hated time out with a passion. And the boy was a devious little shit. One-time Satori had scolded Satoshi for calling Shun a name. He told Satoshi to sit in timeout and not move from the chair. Satoshi followed orders and did not move from the chair. Nope the chair moved with him. Satori found Satoshi scooting around the kitchen and making cereal. Satori had indeed face palmed. Satori no longer gave timeouts is rolling chairs.

Eventually the social worker and Misa decided it was time to start having Satoshi spend some weekdays with them as well. Satori’s first challenge with this was getting Satoshi to go to school. The boy literally would bolt himself to the bed with an iron clad grip. It would take both Satori and Wakatoshi to pry the small tantrum throwing boy off the bed and get him dressed and out the door. The first time going to school had been a nightmare.

Satori suddenly felt bad for all the times they had made Kayori want to rip her hair out.

_I promise I’ll eat better like you said mom._ Satori thought as Satoshi kicked his seat screaming.

Eventually it got better though. Satori thinks it might be because three of the kids that were being adopted by the other boys also went there. Satoshi probably was more at ease when that happened to be the case. Satoshi also seemed to stop wetting the bed every night. The night terrors persisted, but the bed wetting was decreasing in number.

Every day with Satoshi was like a new adventure. Satori even started writing a manga about his daily adventures with Satoshi. Everything from the time Satoshi found a loophole in his timeout rules to the time Satoshi played hide and go seek with them and scared the shit out of Satori when he suddenly jumped on his back from what Satori thought to be an empty closet. Ushijima had found it funny until it happened to him literally the next day. Pay back was a bitch and its name was Satoshi.

Eventually the day came. And Satori had never been more nervous in his entire life.

“Is it alright if I ask him?” Satori asks Misa nervously. And he smiles when Misa nods gently.

“Go ahead honey,” she said smiling. “Don’t be nervous.”

Satori took a deep shuddering breath,” Satoshi would you be happy… if… if we became your permanent family?”

Satoshi dropped the manga he had been holding, his eyes were wide. “For real?” He asks starting to cry. His voice sounded disbelieving. “You really want me?”

Tears streamed down Satori’s face as he looked at the small boy, this boy could break entirely with a single word from Satori.

“I have never wanted anything more,” Satori says honestly. “So, what do you say Sato?”

Satoshi had tears streaming down his face,” I love you guys.”

Suddenly Satori had an armful of small boy. The child was crying tears of joy into Satori’s shoulder.

“I love you Dad. I love you Papa,” Satoshi says.

“We love you too Satoshi,” Satori says,” More than you could ever know.”

The bottom line was that it was his job to love Satoshi with all his heart, no matter what. Honestly, it was the easiest part of his job as a parent.

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